


See The Dumb Sights

by Justybean



Category: The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: AU, Bears, Danny is a bit pathetic, Defenders sorta happened but I don't really reference it, F/M, Road Trip, TERRIBLE AMERICAN LANDMARKS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 22:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13557291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justybean/pseuds/Justybean
Summary: No one is quite sure how Danny Rand talked the rest of The Defenders into a terrible bonding road trip.But he had.And now here they were.





	See The Dumb Sights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [livingvakariouslythroughyou (supercow585)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercow585/gifts).



> Here is my DareJones Valentine's Day Exchange Fic.
> 
> I had a hard time getting started with the prompt "Road Trip", I will not lie. And I'm sorry if it doesn't narrow down on them as much as you were expecting, but I still hope it brings a smile to your face, which is what I was going for.

How in the hell had Jessica’s life come to this? 

 

She worked alone. She got her cases done on her own and didn’t keep any friends other than Trish. That was the way she  _ liked it _ . 

 

So how the hell did she end up in the backseat of a very expensive Mercedes being driven by Danny Rand with the rest of their little rag-tag team along for the ride? Luke Cage sat in the passenger seat and Matthew Murdock was crammed into the backseat beside her.

 

Since when did she go on road trips?

 

It had been Danny’s idea, which really shouldn’t surprise anyone. According to him it was supposed to be ‘team bonding’ time. A chance to really spend some quality time together apart from when they were beating the shit out of the latest threats on New York. 

 

Why he decided that bonding needed to be in a far too cramped car driving to some of the dumbest American Landmarks ever, Jessica will never know.

 

They had all held out for a long time. No was easy the first few times. But it was hard to focus on anything else when Danny would literally  _ not shut up _ about his stupid road trip. 

 

And despite the shit they gave him, they had all been working together for a while now and it had become sort of like a little family. A really weird one that Jessica was irritated with most of the time, but a family nonetheless. It was hard not to feel something when he kept using his sad little dejected face.

 

So very reluctantly they agreed that just for a few nights they would go and see a couple landmarks that weren’t  _ too _ far away from New York.

 

Luke and Matt grumbled about it too, so Jessica felt vindicated in her displeasure.

 

She had overheard talks of a Magic Forest, a Giant Duck, and The World’s Largest Kaleidoscope; just to name a few. And honestly, she wasn’t even sure which ones he had settled on in the end because she really, really didn’t care. They were all dumb as hell. But Danny had never been on a road trip and had never experienced the stupid roadside attraction, so they were all an exciting new prospect to him. 

 

And as far as ‘team bonding’ went, she figured it was best the rest of the team didn’t know that her and Matt slept in the same bed together at least three nights out of every week. 

 

It was probably not the bonding Danny was going for. 

 

Danny had recently gotten his license, so he was all jazzed up about driving the whole entire trip himself. Luke had offered shifts while Jessica had silently glared at both of them, but their fearless leader in this insisted he do it all. There were no complaints from Jessica about that. 

 

He was currently chattering on about how excited he was they were all getting out of the city, even just for a few days. Luke seemed fine with it as well. They had saved it a couple times now, but even vigilanties needed breaks, right?

 

Matt did not agree. He had been tense at Jessica’s side since the moment they had all driven out of Hell’s Kitchen.

 

There was an overwhelming desire inside of her to comfort him, but being in the vehicle with the rest of their team made it….weird. The two in the front seemed well invested in their own conversation so Jessica quickly reached over and patted Matt’s hand a couple times before snapping it back. 

 

“Relax, Murdock,” she said quietly. “It’ll still be there when we get back.”

 

It was simple enough and could have sounded like she was mocking him, but Matt knew Jessica well and could immediately tell what it was she was trying to do. He smiled in her direction, one of his soft ones that made her melt unwillingly, and nodded.

 

His body relaxed slightly, though she could still see the slight frown above his glasses.

 

“Maybe,” she tacked on. Just for fun.

 

\--

 

They’re standing as one big stupid group in front of the world’s largest kaleidoscope and Jessica is regretting pretty much every life decision that brought her here. Danny is  _ fucking ecstatic  _ about the stupid landmark and Luke is looking at him like he’s the funniest thing on the planet. 

 

Jessica and Matt hung back just slightly, standing side by side in front of the giant monstrosity. 

 

“Don’t you guys see how amazing this is?” Danny calls out, throwing his arms wide. 

 

“Oh. I can  _ see _ it alright.” Matt’s voice is completely deadpan and he responds within a second of Danny’s exclamation. He adjusts his glasses when Danny turns around, making his point.

 

Jessica snorts at Matt’s side, which in turn makes the corner of his mouth pull up in amusement. 

 

“Oh.” Danny sounds slightly sheepish, meaning he hadn't actually considered that Matt wouldn’t  be able to see a single thing they end up visiting on this trip. 

 

“It’s a kaleidoscope. It’s huge. You’re welcome.” Her description makes Luke laugh and Matt roll his eyes behind his glasses. 

 

“Thank you, Jones. Very descriptive.”

 

Luke and Danny turn towards the kaleidoscope and Matt takes that moment to reach over and gently grab Jessica’s hand. They stand there like that for a few seconds before Matt drops it again to walk over and join the other two.

 

Jessica stares at her hand and enjoys the warm feeling there for a few moments before doing the same. They all stand there, enjoying the stupid tourist trap as a group.

 

God, how did she get stuck with these idiots?

 

\--

 

Their first snag on the trip (besides the trip itself) presents itself when they pull into a motel for the night.

 

Danny has more than enough to spring for a hotel. They all know it. He knows it. But he’s insisted that the ‘family road trip vibe’ is only complete by using standard three star motels. And since none of them actually want to pay for a big lovely hotel complete with continental breakfast and a swimming pool, they reluctantly follow him as he walks into the check in office.

 

Danny gets them two rooms.

 

Two. 

 

He’s really, really pushing the family thing. Luckily he is smart enough to hand Jessica one of the room key and insists that they will all share and she can have the second one to herself. There’s no way in hell she’d sleep in the same room as Danny and it would be too awkward with Luke. She also doesn’t want to risk making Claire uncomfortable in any way. Not that she automatically assumes it would, but she’s trying to be respectful.

 

She likes Claire.

 

She’d share with Matt if they were back home and not with their little team.

 

The group separates and Jessica closes herself behind the thin wooden door. It’s the first time in a few nights that she’s slept without Matt and it feels weird. 

 

Feels wrong, actually. 

 

She pictures the guys and what they’re doing to distract herself for a while. Images of traditional sleepover activities barge their way in, and now she can’t unsee Danny making Luke and Matt braid his hair. She snickers to herself as she settles in to watch something on whatever local TV channels this place has chosen to provide.

 

The fridge has a few drinks in it and she helps herself. Danny can pay for them when they check out.

 

A twenty-four hour marathon of some ridiculous soap opera keeps Jessica up very late. She’s not exactly enjoying it, but it’s better than anything else on TV. Brianna has just slipped into another coma when there is a gentle knock at her door. 

 

There’s only one person it could be. Jessica gets up from the little nest she had built on her bed and opens up to find Matt outside her door - sans cane and glasses - in his sleep shirt and boxers. 

 

He looks cute. 

 

“Hey,” he greets, keeping his voice low. He’s smiling again and Jessica easily steps aside to let him into the room. 

 

“Get lost, Murdock?” she asks once the door is closed again. 

 

Matt chuckles and shakes his head. “Wasn’t sleeping well. I heard your TV and figured you weren't too. Luke and Danny were in deep REM so I figured it was safe enough to get out.”

 

Briefly Jessica wonders how a literal trained Ninja can be snuck past, but then decides not to question it too much. It worked well for them tonight and asking Danny would result in some big long Iron First story she wasn’t mentally prepared to hear. 

 

“Presumptuous,” she comments, which only makes him smirk. 

 

He’s right and they both know it. 

 

Matt climbs into her bed and straightens out some of the comforter that she had bunched up. 

 

“This show sounds terrible. Jason’s been caught cheating three times now.”

 

“You are so weird.” Jessica laughs and joins him on the bed. “You listen in on everyone’s TV?”

 

“Just yours.” He shuts the TV off and they both sink into the completely average blankets to sleep until Matt has to sneak back into his own room early in the morning.

 

He makes it back undetected. Because of course he does. 

 

\--

 

Their next stop is in Vermont, so they get there pretty early the next day. Danny pulls the car over and Jessica blinks her eyes open after a decent nap to figure out where they are. 

 

“Are you kidding me?” she asks, and Luke laughs in the front seat. Jessica knows he hates this too. Asshole. 

 

“It’s funny!” Danny says as he climbs out of the car. 

 

A giant Gorilla holding a VW bug. That’s where he’s stopped them this time. Jessica doesn’t even remember this one being discussed before they left.

 

Luke and Matt get out to follow Danny but Jessica stays behind, still disbelieving that this is her actual life right now. 

 

Matt notices and comes back to open her door for her, an amused look on his face. 

 

“This is dumb and you know it,” she says, still sitting in the vehicle. 

 

“Yes it is. Come on.” Jessica sighs and finally gets out. They follow the other two up to the giant statue and stand at it’s feet for a while.

 

“Don’t you pick up cars, Jess?” Luke asks, making their little group laugh. Jessica crosses her arms and tries not to think about the fact that she has, in fact, thrown cars around. 

 

\--

 

They stop in a few more locations over the next day and a half. It starts to get...pretty okay. That might be because Luke had started to mock Danny at each location and Matt keeps gently touching her lower back when they stand and pretend to be in awe of the dumb tourist traps. 

 

His hand is warm through her layers and makes her feel more comfortable in the groups of strangers that surround them. Maybe that’s why he does it. He probably can sense her relaxing just slightly when his hand makes contact. 

 

His reflexes are quick enough to have his hand back on his cane when it looks like Luke or Danny are going to turn around. 

 

\--

 

Danny pulls over at another motel once he starts yawning at the wheel and this time he gets them four separate rooms. It’s as much as staying in a nice hotel would be, but he will not be persuaded otherwise. 

 

If he wants to be an idiot with his money, than that’s his choice.

 

Jessica goes to Matt’s room this time and he’s got the door open for her when she’s still a few feet away. He smirks as she enters and she finds that he’s already got the drinks from his mini-fridge out for her.

 

“My hero,” she comments dryly as she picks up one of the tiny bottles. 

 

“It seemed like a long day for you,” he simply said, coming to sit down beside her on the bed. He’s already got a pair of sleep pants on and his hair is messed up from where he took his shirt off when changing. She itches to reach out and run her fingers through it, so she does.

 

“These places really suck.” His hair is soft between her fingers and he leans into the touch just slightly. After a few moments she takes her hand back.

 

“Yes. But Danny’s enjoying it. It’s a bit like having a child.”

 

Jessica grumbles, still not pleased.

 

“Luke isn’t enjoying most of our trip right now either. I have a feeling he’ll convince Danny to do something different in a stop or two.”

 

Jessica is slightly comforted by this. If Luke tries to convince Danny, she’ll back him up and push for whatever it is he wants. She’s finished the first little bottle of alcohol at this point and has moved on to the second. 

 

“Think we should tell them? This is a bonding trip after all.” He suggests it without a hint of irritation or pressure. It’s her choice and he understands that.

 

It’s as good a time as any, but Jessica is still hesitant. It would be...different if they did.

 

Jessica shrugs in response, the bottle up to her lips. Trish knows. Foggy knows. The rest of the team has to find out eventually. She doesn’t like the idea of a million questions or the little freak out Danny will have when they tell him.

 

Or perhaps it’s the fact that when she fuckes this up (Because she will. She tends to do that.) there will be more people in the fallout and it will cause problems for their little team. 

 

“Maybe,” she says noncommittally. He nods and shifts up so his body is pressed right up against hers. They spend a decent part of their night watching terrible TV again until they both pass out. 

 

\--

  
  


The next day isn’t quite as bad. They’ve managed to get Danny off the dumb attractions warpath - at least for now - and manage to stop in a really cool local restaurant for dinner. 

 

It’s a little hole in the wall that only locals should know about but somehow they stumble upon it. It looks like it’s trying to be ‘hip’, but it’s not obnoxious. 

 

Jessica finds she likes it. Especially when she sees their many drink specials. 

 

They’ve got all sorts of food options that are okay even for Matt’s sensitive palate and the tension in everyone’s shoulders seems to ease just slightly. There’s a live band playing that isn’t too loud and Luke seems to be enjoying them quite a bit, so they sit well after finishing their food and have a couple drinks to just enjoy listening to the music.

 

Luke and Matt stumble out slightly intoxicated and Jessica follows at a steady pace. But she’s feeling a bit of a buzz too, so she’s in a good mood. 

 

The three boys are laughing about something ahead of her and for a moment she thinks about the fact that they actually are bonding on this trip. 

 

She’s never going to admit it to Danny.

 

\--

 

They end up in New Hampshire the next day at some Trading Post. (Another dumb location. Danny won this round.)

 

Only this one goes differently. It’s not just a statue to look or some silly show. There are bears. Captive bears forced to do tricks. They’re playing basketball. And eating Ice Cream. 

 

What the fuck. Jessica doesn’t have a lot of standards - but even she could see this was pretty fucking bad. 

 

Luke wasn’t happy. She could tell by the deep frown on his face and his crossed arms bulging with the effort of not punching something. Matt’s got white knuckles wrapped around his cane and he’s got his head tilted slightly like he’s listening to something he really doesn’t like.

 

But nothing compared to the look on Danny’s face. 

 

“What are they doing?” he asks, sounding more shocked than actually confused. 

 

A woman beside them answers before any of them can. “It’s the bear show! They’ve been doing it for ages! There’s always something different!” She sounds beyond excited and it only seems to upset Danny more. 

 

They all dislike it, but he’s taking it  _ very _ personally. The woman moves away and he turns to face them, his back now to the show.

 

“This can’t be legal.” He keeps his voice low which Jessica assumes is to avoid attracting the attention of the people who around them who are excited for the show.

 

“Unfortunately, it is,” Matt sounds hesitant which is probably because he knows what Danny’s reaction will be. The man’s face only gets more upset. He’s almost as red as a tomato and Jessica is pretty sure she’s never seen him frown quite this much. 

 

“It’s wrong. They’re not performers! They’re animals! Bears aren’t meant to do things like this!” He’s a bit louder now, which attract some strange looks but luckily no one comes over. 

 

No one comments and Danny stands silent for a few moments, his hands in fists at his side. That’s really not a good sign. He’ll light that thing up for anything. Honestly, she’s shocked he hasn’t announced to the trainers that ‘He’s the Immortal Iron Fist.’ 

 

They honestly should have seen the next words out of his mouth coming. 

 

“We’re going to break them out.” There is a certainly to his voice that begs no questioning, but they’re sure as hell still going to try. 

 

“No, we are not.” Luke is the first voice of reason, shutting Danny down in his ‘you’re an idiot’ voice.

 

“That’s definitely illegal.” Matt speaks almost at the same time and sounds completely exasperated. 

 

“What the fuck?” is Jessica’s eloquent comment following behind the two others. 

 

“We can’t leave them here! We’re supposed to be protectors!”

 

“Of people, mostly. Not bears who will probably eat us if we get close.” 

 

Okay so, that maybe was a bit dramatic. Bears didn’t eat people. She knew that, honestly. But chances were high they’d get bitten at least which was going to cause some serious damage for everyone except for Luke.

 

Which of course, Danny had already figured out. 

 

“Luke will get close to them and break the chains and cages!”

 

“You’re making plans like we’ve agreed to this. Which we haven’t,” Matt points out, clearly unimpressed that Danny is still going on despite all of them saying no.

 

Danny doesn’t seem to care. He pushes on. “Jessica, you can get people out of here quickly.”

 

“No.” 

 

“Danny, you’re going to get yourself killed. Or arrested.” She’s pretty sure she’s never heard Luke sound quite this unimpressed with Danny, which is pretty impressive considering it seems to be his natural state around the man.

 

“Look at them! They look sick! They’re suffering.”

 

And fuck it if he wasn’t right. They were smaller than the average bear and there is no imagining what the people must have done to train them to do tricks like these. 

 

Jessica feels an abundance of anger which is what makes her think her next statement is a good idea. “Fine. I’ll get everyone out.” Three pairs of eyes whip over to her and she refuses to meet any of them.

 

They’re suppose to be bonding, right? What better way to do that then to break out some captive bears?

 

“You can’t actually be serious, Jessica.” Luke sounds unimpressed with her now. Also normal. She ignores him. “What are we even going to do with them? They can’t go into the wild.”

 

“We could get them sent to research and care zoos. They’ll be treated well there.” 

 

Jessica turns to look at Matt, only slightly shocked at the suggestion. So apparently he’s on board now too.

 

She has a feeling it might have something to do with her sudden agreement, which makes her smile for just a moment. 

 

“I’ll call Ward. We’ll get them taken care of.”

 

“I can’t believe we’re having this discussion. We can’t steal bears!”

 

Luke was holding strong, but with the rest of them on board it would only be so long.

 

“Oh. We’re definitely stealing the bears,” Jessica said, curling her hands into fists at her side. She honestly liked this a lot better now that they were wording it like that. 

 

“We need you Luke. Only you can get near them without getting hurt. Come on man.” Danny’s doing his puppy look again that got them all into this road trip in the first place. Jessica had a sneaking suspicion that it was a well planned face and not the innocent plea they had taken it for. 

 

Danny knew what he was doing. 

 

“I need new friends.” Luke deadpanned back, but it wasn’t an outright dismissal anymore.

 

Danny picked up on that right away. 

 

“I’ll help you break the chains. The rest of the cages can’t be too far.”

 

“No, no. Keep them in the chains. Get them away from the keepers. We can’t let bears run around until your friend gets here.” Luke has a point, and thank god he had gotten on board just in time. 

 

The definitely would have had bears just running all over the place.

 

“Matt…..” Danny pauses and turns around to look at Matt, who is very much sans Daredevil suit. “You keep looking innocent.”

 

Jessica actually snorts and there is a smirk on Luke’s face. 

 

“How are you going to get everyone out?” Matt asks Jessica instead of responding to that.

 

“Easy.”

 

“Easy?”

 

“I’m going to start a fire.”

 

\--

 

The plan ends up going better than expected. But only slightly. 

 

Jessica’s got a scratch down her face from a particularly angry bear, but it’ll heal quickly. Danny’s arms are covered in marks now, but he doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it. Luke...looks immaculate now that’s he’s taken off his shredded hoodie.

 

Despite warnings against her idea, Jessica did start a fire in the corner of the tented area. 

 

Matt had reminded her they were now adding arson to all the crimes they were about to commit. 

 

“Go big or go home, right?” she had asked with a smirk as she set it off. It was small enough to not be incredibly dangerous (she hoped), but would get attention and send people running.

 

Which it did.

 

The keepers were working on getting the bears out on the other side of the tent, which meant they weren’t  _ total _ assholes who would just leave them behind all chained up. 

 

Luke makes it easier for them. He stops their progress and holds his hands out for the chains without a word. It’s very clear what he wants.

 

The two keepers are reluctant and make an attempt to push past the towering man. Which goes about as well as expected. 

 

Danny’s now at Luke’s side with his fist glowing and Luke steps forward to take the chains out of their hands. They do it without hurting the two, but they do end up on their asses. 

 

“Thank you.” Luke says, which she’s sure only pisses the two men off more. 

 

There are two more employees rushing in, but they get stalled when a blind man  _ accidentally _ bumps into them, knocking them down too. 

 

Team bonding at it’s finest. 

 

Luke and Danny are now trying to get the bears out of the tent and back to where the rest are being kept to wait for pickup from Ward. 

 

(They had called him before starting. He wasn’t pleased, but agreed to send out planes and people who could get the bears where they need to go. It’s amazing what money could do.)

 

That was when the bears got a little aggressive. 

 

No one could blame them. There was a fire burning, people were pushing and shoving around them, and now complete strangers were trying to drag them along. Jessica would have gotten aggressive for much less. 

 

She had never heard a bear roar in person before and it was a lot louder than expected. She winced and looked over to check on Matt who was now making a slightly pained face.

 

“You’re pissing them off!” Jessica yelled when the noise had stopped. Now they were lunging for Luke and Danny. It wasn’t a concern for Luke, but Danny had very breakable skin.

 

“We’re helping!” Danny yelled back.

 

“Yeah? I don’t think the bears speak English, Danny.” 

 

Luke rolled his eyes at them and gave the bears another tug. He was trying his best to keep them moving without using his full strength to avoid hurting them. Matt was coming over now that the tent was clear and the bears had stopped roaring at an unmanageable level. 

 

It took a good fifteen minutes to finally get the bears to the back room where the rest were being kept. Danny had stepped closer than he should have several times, and his arms showed that proof. Jessica had tried to get Danny out of the way just once, earning her scratch on her face. 

 

She was never agreeing to anything Danny said ever again. 

 

It was there they waited for Ward and his team to come and pick the animals up. They had felt bad about putting the two bears from the stage back into cages as that was exactly what they were trying to stop, but they were worked up from the excitement and it would be easier to transport them that way. 

 

It would be the very last time they were in a cage like that.

 

“Oh shit. Did anyone deal with the fire?” Jessica shot up straight from where she had been relaxing to ask. Luke and Danny looked at each other, so that was a no. 

 

And she hadn’t. 

 

“I put it out.” Matt spoke up from her right.

 

Teamwork. 

 

\--

  
  


They unanimously decide that it’s time to bring the road trip to and end. Ward has a plane that can take them back faster than any vehicle and a bear rescue was more than enough excitement for all of them. 

 

Honestly, nothing will be like fighting an actual bear in Jessica’s life again. Criminals are going to be nothing. 

 

“We fought bears,” Jessica says after a decent amount of comfortable silence between her and Matt. Danny is up in the cockpit with Ward and his pilot and Luke has gone to the fully stocked kitchen to get something to eat. That leaves Jessica and Matt, sitting side by side on the incredibly comfortable seats. 

 

Seriously. They are almost as good as what Matt has in his apartment. 

 

“You fought bears. I tripped people and put out your fire.” He reminds her.

 

“You did an excellent job of putting out the fire.” The sentiment is ruined by her following snicker. 

 

“You didn’t even notice I had done it.”

 

“....I was fighting a bear.”

 

He shakes his head beside her but there’s a gentle smile on his face. He reaches up to brush his fingers just under her scratch. It was healing up nicely already, which was irritating Danny. His would take ages. 

 

“This was the worst road trip I’ve ever been on.”

 

“Yeah, how many you been on, Murdock?” she counters. 

 

The silence she got in return answered the question. 

 

A slow smile spread across her face and she reached out to grab Matt’s hand, right there in the middle of the plane with the rest of the team on board. 

 

“Planning on telling them?” Matt asked, no accusation in his voice.

 

“We fought bears today. How much worse can Danny’s freak out about not telling him be?”

 

The answer: much, much worse. 

**Author's Note:**

> So all of these places are real except for the restaurant the group stops at for a bit.
> 
> While researching I found the Trading Post and took it a little personally and well....here we are now.


End file.
